Texans have fried butter, beer and even bubblegum at the State Fair. The annual battle of the bulge is back, and fairgoers can expect new foods such as fried Sriracha, fried breakfast and funnel cake beer when the Midway opens Sept. 26 through Oct. 19 in Dallas’ Fair Park.

The State Fair of Texas announced its eight finalists on Monday for the Big Tex Choice Awards — the name for this annual food competition now entering its tenth year.

The State Fair of Texas will have Fletcher's corny dogs this year, of course. (Here's Jett Warner, great-grandson of Skip Fletcher, in 2011.) Below you'll find the new fried foods at the fair this year.

The list of finalists regularly includes eyebrow-raising ingredients such as this year’s “deep-fried Texas bluebonnet,” which doesn’t in fact contain bits of our state flower: It’s a battered, fried blueberry muffin with a clever name.

“We spent as much time thinking about the name as we do about the product,” says concessionaire Isaac Rousso. “The hook is getting someone to think, ‘What is a deep-fried Texas bluebonnet? What is that?’ It gets people kind of intrigued.”

He’s a regular at the Big Tex Choice Awards as the winner of last year’s best-tasting dish, the deep-fried Cuban roll. Rousso notches his fifth consecutive year in the finals this fall. His past dishes have included a fried Pop-Tart, fried salsa and fried pork wing.

Years of odd fried foods have put the State Fair of Texas on an international stage.

Some of the past winners, such as 2006’s “most creative” food fried Coke, have defied logic. (How do you fry a liquid?) Others, like 2008’s “best taste” for chicken-fried bacon, are crowd pleasers simply for a beloved ingredient. Bacon.

“People come out to the Fair each year to try the new concoctions from our concessionaires,” Karissa Schuler, spokesperson for the fair, said via email. “We even have fairgoers who hold their own food competition with their friends and family, walking the fairgrounds to try the Big Tex Choice Award finalists, and decide who they think is the best.”

Here’s a little more information about this year’s roster of fried foods, as sent by the State Fair of Texas. See photos at the bottom of the post.

• Chicken-fried loaded baked potato: “The creamy and moist insides of a baked potato, loaded with generous amounts of butter, bacon, and cheddar cheese, are coated and battered with a delectable blend of spices and flour that create a perfect combination of fried crispy crust and delicious, creamy loaded baked potato. Served with a ranch dipping sauce.”

• Deep-fried Texas bluebonnet: “A blueberry muffin, scone-style batter that is stuffed with cream cheese, blueberries and sweet morsels of white chocolate. It is baked and deep fried to a perfect golden brown. This mountain of flavor is topped off with whipped cream, chopped white chocolate morsels, powdered sugar, blueberries, and a delicious blueberry glaze.”

• Fried Gulf shrimp boil: “Everything you would expect in a shrimp boil rolled into a ball, dusted with fish fry, and fried to a golden brown! Baby gulf shrimp, diced red potatoes, onion, lemon, and seasoning are formed around a cocktail shrimp, dusted and fried with the tail sticking out for a handle. Served with a remoulade sauce.”

• Fried Sriracha balls: “A lip-smacking combination of shredded chicken, corn, green chilies, tomatoes, and Sriracha hot sauce, formed into balls and coated with crispy tortilla chips. It is then flash-fried until golden brown. For those who like their food higher on the Scoville Scale, extra Sriracha Sauce is available.”

• Fried Sweet Texas: “Traveling across Texas to try the best and most popular desserts gave inspiration for this fried treat. Fried Sweet Texas starts with fresh pie dough filled with crunchy pecan pie, juicy peach cobbler and creamy buttermilk pie. It is then deep fried until the crust is golden brown and flaky, and then served up with a side of Texas’ own Blue Bell Vanilla Ice Cream. A real tribute to Texans and their amazing sweet treats!”

• Original State Fair Brew – Funnel Cake Ale: “A light and delicious ale brewed to be reminiscent of one of the telltale flavors of the State Fair – FUNNEL CAKE! This refreshing English style summer ale has been brewed to be ready and crisp, with just the right amount of toastiness and sweetness, finishing with delicate notes of natural vanilla; all great flavors you find in a perfectly executed funnel cake. For those whose taste buds call for a sweeter finish, take advantage of the option to have the rim of your cup coated with powdered sugar. Must be 21 years of age.”

• Twisted Texas taco: “What do you get when you combine the four major food groups of Texas? Chicken Fried, Barbecue, Tex-Mex, and Chili – Twisted Texas Tacos! This taco starts off with tender, juicy hickory smoked Texas beef brisket, double-dipped in a barbecue spiced buttermilk batter and deep fried until it is robust and beefy. It is served in a warm flour tortilla, generously layered with a Mexican cheese blend, crispy fried okra, and a sweet and crunchy tri-color slaw, accented with zesty poblano and sweet pepper corn. Served with a creamy country gravy, spicy Texas Chili and a miniature salute from the Lone Star flag.”

It seems no food is safe in the fry ‘em and try ‘em game. (One finalist, the funnel cake beer, doesn’t take a splash in the fryer, however. It’s also unique as the only beverage in the list of finalists.)

Judges will choose the best tasting dish and the most creative at 10 a.m. on Labor Day. Judges are former Top Chef contestant Tiffany Derry; The Ticket radio personality Donovan Lewis; blogger Cynthia Smoot; Texas Monthly barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn and one lucky fairgoer chosen from a video contest.

The public can also sample all eight foods on Labor Day with the purchase of a $100 ticket while seats remain.

Regardless of which dishes win, all the new food finalists will be sold at the State Fair this year.

Joining Rousso are a group of usual suspects who have been frying for fun for years. Justin Martinez, for instance, is regularly drumming up oddball ideas, like the fried bubblegum that won him “most creative” in 2011. Two years later, he won another creative award with his fried Thanksgiving dinner.

He regularly asks himself, “What could be fried?”

Martinez is the only competitor with two entries in the final round this year: Fried Sweet Texas and funnel cake beer.

“It feels pretty amazing,” Martinez said. “Typically, concessionaires are pretty excited just to have one item [in the Big Tex Choice Awards]. To have two, that’s a feat of its own.”

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